In Brief
In a land acquisition dispute for the Ajanta Verul Development Project, the Supreme Court addressed whether the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation could withdraw an additional deposit of compensation (Rs. 1,37,50,547) that it claimed was deposited by mistake. The issue turned on interpreting the Supreme Court's earlier order dated 29.01.2018, which modified the High Court's interim order to allow release of 50% of enhanced compensation without security and 50% on furnishing security. The Supreme Court held that its order must be read on its substance, not technicalities—the entire enhanced compensation should reach the land claimants under those conditions. The Court rejected the MTDC's hyper-technical argument and set aside the High Court's order permitting withdrawal, emphasizing that in compensation matters, justice should prevail over technicalities.
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